I'd been thinking about trying to make some shrimp burgers so last Sunday I gave some a try. I looked through my cookbooks and poked around the 'net but almost all the recipes I found included breadcrumbs, which I didn't want to use because I didn't want shrimp cakes.

I was up early so I hit a couple of grocery stores in an attempt to find STP-free shrimp, and eventually brought home three pounds that I thawed and peeled.

Back to the recipes...I found one that suggested that some of the shrimp can be pureed and used as a binder. Does it work? Yes indeed - shrimp puree can be used to make burgers, put up wallpaper, build a brick wall, and hold those ceramic tiles on the space shuttle. And it also sticks to cookware, as She Who Washed The Dishes informed me. After lightly chopping about a pound I added some lime zest, garlic, and soy sauce...and completely forgot the fresh basil I had in mind.

After mixing up the glue I chopped the remaining two pounds more coarsely, mixed everything together, and formed the patties.

I was worried that they'd stick to the grill grate but there's an app for that: the grill basket that I'd been given a couple of years ago and never used.

The basket doesn't have a removable handle so I put the 22" grate on the 18" Weber bowl so that everything would sit level, and cooked the patties until I thought they were done. I probably overcooked them a little bit but figured that would be better than undercooked because of the puree holding them together. As an aside, I'm going to keep this in mind for future reference when I want a hot fire and maybe just a little more distance between it and the food.

Overall they weren't too bad. They were just a little bit tough because I overcooked them and I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the basil, but the shrimp flavor was pretty good and the lime and garlic weren't overpowering. I'll make them again sometime...just as soon as I save up enough for three more pounds of shrimp.

Definitely. Unfortunately all I could find were farm-raised Thai shrimp so I rolled the dice, but I did wash them extremely well before doing anything else. And I never buy any foodstuffs or dog treats labeled "China".

However, the first store I visited had a bag of shrimp from Wood's Fisheries but it was so poorly labeled by the store (and there was no one able to help at 7am on a Sunday) that I didn't take the chance. In hindsight it's what I should've bought...I think I need to email Chairman Bob and complain!

It's sodium tripolyphosphate or something close it. IIRC it causes the shrimp to retain water but if they're quick-frozen soon after being caught that shouldn't be an issue. I sent an email to the grocery store chain this morning and hopefully they'll get back to me in a couple of days.

What's STP-free shrimp? I always thought STP was one of those psychedelic drugs from the 60's.

Canada, in earlier days, I used to know STP as an acronym for "Stop Them Pistons." Actually it was a gas or fuel additive that was supposed to promote engine longevity and performance. It was a "drug" for cars. And about retaining water... no kidding!-- Have you ever bought frozen fish or shrimp, say large shrimp, and once you cook it, you're left with popcorn shrimp? Mighty disparaging.